The short version. EAGO sells you a seat on someone else's bus, or a bed in someone else's property. We handle the booking, the payment and the tracking. The bus company drives the bus and the host owns the room, and each of them is responsible for what they provide. If something goes wrong, contact us first — we will help you sort it out.
1. Who we are
EAGO (East Africa Go) is operated by EAGO Uganda Ltd, a company registered in Uganda, and in Rwanda by EAGO Rwanda Ltd. In these terms, "EAGO", "we" and "us" mean whichever of those companies sold you the booking — shown on your ticket and on the payment instructions. "You" means the person making the booking and, where different, each traveller or guest named on it.
These terms apply whenever you use eastafricago.com, the EAGO app at app.eastafricago.com, or book through an EAGO agent or counter.
2. What EAGO does
EAGO is a booking and payment platform. We are an agent, not a carrier and not an accommodation provider.
- Bus seats and cross-border rides are sold on behalf of the transport operator named on your ticket. That operator carries you, employs the driver and conductor, owns and maintains the vehicle, and is responsible for the journey.
- Stays are sold on behalf of the host or property owner, who provides the accommodation and is responsible for it.
- Some listings reach EAGO from partner portals, including makaug.com in Uganda and turebe.com in Rwanda. Those listings are supplied by the partner and the host remains responsible for the property.
Your contract for the journey itself is with the transport operator, and your contract for the stay is with the host. Your contract with EAGO covers the booking, the payment, the ticket and the services we provide directly. We are responsible for our own part and will not try to disclaim it.
3. Using EAGO
You must be 18 or over to make a booking. Someone under 18 may travel on a booking made by an adult who is responsible for them.
You must give accurate information. Names must match the identity document each traveller will carry, because the operator and immigration will check them. A booking in a false name may be refused at the stage or at the border, and we cannot refund a journey you were refused for that reason.
You may sign in with your phone number and a one-time code. Keep your phone secure. Anyone holding a booking link can see that booking, so treat the link as you would the ticket itself.
4. Booking a seat
When you choose seats we hold them for a short period, shown on screen, so you can pay. If payment is not completed in that time the hold ends and the seats go back on sale. A booking is confirmed only once payment has been received and confirmed — not when you say you have paid.
Your ticket carries a booking number and a QR code. The conductor scans the code, or types the booking number if there is no signal. Arrive at the stage at least 30 minutes before departure, and earlier for a cross-border journey. The operator may release an unclaimed seat at departure time.
Departure and arrival times are the operator's best estimate. Roads, weather, border queues and mechanical faults all cause delays, and we cannot guarantee a time of arrival. Where you have a connection to make, allow for that.
5. Booking a stay
Stays are nightly accommodation booked through EAGO and provided by the host.
- Some listings book instantly. Others are a request: the host confirms first, and we message you as soon as they answer.
- Once a stay is confirmed you have a limited time, shown on your booking, to pay for it. If you do not pay within that time the nights go back on sale.
- The full address and the host's phone number are sent to you once payment has been confirmed.
- Check-in and check-out times are set by the host and shown on the listing and on your booking.
- The number of guests on the booking is the number who may stay. Bringing more may mean being turned away, with no refund.
The host is responsible for the condition, safety, cleanliness and legality of the property, and for anything they state in the listing. Listing details and photographs are supplied by the host or by the partner portal. We take reasonable care but cannot inspect every property, and we do not warrant that a listing is accurate in every respect. Tell us if a property is materially different from its listing and we will take it up with the host and, where appropriate, refund you.
6. Paying
Prices are shown in Uganda Shillings (UGX) or Rwanda Francs (RWF) and include the fare or nightly rate, EAGO's booking or service fee, and any extras you choose. The total you will pay is shown before you confirm.
Payment is by MTN Mobile Money or Airtel Money. You pay the EAGO merchant code shown on your booking, then enter the transaction ID from the message your network sends you. A member of EAGO staff matches that transaction against the statement and confirms the booking. This normally takes a few minutes during working hours.
- Use the booking reference as the reason or reference on the payment. Payments we cannot match may be delayed.
- A transaction ID can be used once. Entering one that has already been used on another booking will be refused.
- If we cannot find your payment we will tell you, and your seat or your nights stay held for a short while so you can try again.
- If you pay an amount different from the total, we will contact you to settle the difference or refund it.
Mobile Money network charges are set by your network, not by us, and are not included in the total.
7. Changes and cancellations
Seats
Each operator sets its own cancellation terms, and the exact ladder that applies to your journey is shown before you pay and again on your ticket. Typically:
- Cancel 24 hours or more before departure — the fare is refunded in full.
- Cancel 6 hours or more before departure — half the fare is refunded.
- Cancel less than 6 hours before departure, or do not travel — no refund.
EAGO's booking fee is not refundable, because the work it pays for has already been done. Refunds are returned to the Mobile Money number that paid, normally within a few working days.
Stays
Each listing shows its own cancellation terms, usually free cancellation up to a stated number of hours before check-in, after which the first night is charged.
If we or the operator cancel
If a departure is cancelled you may choose a full refund — including the booking fee — or a free move to another departure. If you do not choose by the original departure time, we refund you automatically. If a host cancels a confirmed stay, you are refunded in full and we will help you find somewhere else.
8. Crossing the border
For cross-border journeys you must carry a valid passport or national identity document accepted at the Katuna/Gatuna crossing, and meet the entry requirements of the country you are travelling to. We collect your nationality and document details when you book so the operator can produce the manifest immigration requires.
Entry is decided by the immigration authorities of each country, not by EAGO or the operator. If you are refused entry, or delayed at the border, we cannot refund your fare and the bus is not obliged to wait. Allow 30 to 60 minutes for both posts. Clocks go back one hour entering Rwanda.
9. Luggage
The luggage allowance and any charge for extra bags are set by the operator and shown before you pay. Extra bag charges are collected on the operator's behalf and belong to them.
Do not put money, documents, electronics, medication or anything fragile or valuable in the hold. Carry those with you. Claims for hold luggage are made against the operator, and trip cover, if you bought it, may apply.
10. Tracking
EAGO shows the position of the vehicle, not of any passenger. The position comes from a tracker fitted to the vehicle, or from a phone the conductor or driver is carrying for that purpose.
You may share a tracking link so family can follow the journey and see when the bus is due. Anyone with that link can see the vehicle's position, the route and your first name. Share it only with people you want to have it. You can see and change who receives updates from your booking page at any time.
Tracking depends on mobile coverage and on the tracker or phone being switched on. There are stretches of this corridor with no signal. We do not guarantee that tracking is continuous or accurate at any given moment, and it should not be relied on for anything safety-critical.
11. Trip cover
Trip cover is optional insurance you may add when booking. What it covers, and the limits, are shown before you buy and printed on your ticket.
Trip cover is insurance provided by the underwriter named on your certificate, not by EAGO. We arrange it; the underwriter pays claims and sets the policy terms. Claims are made through EAGO support within 30 days, quoting your booking number, with a police or medical report where one applies.
Note: trip cover is not on sale until an underwriter has been appointed and named on the certificate. Until then, nothing on EAGO is sold as insurance.
12. Food, transfers and other extras
Food ordered to a stop, onward taxi transfers and similar extras are provided by the vendor or driver concerned, who is responsible for them. EAGO passes on your order and, where you pay through us, takes a disclosed commission. Prices and availability are set by the vendor. If a bus does not stop where expected, or a stop is closed, we will refund anything you paid through us for it.
13. Behaviour
The operator may refuse to carry, or may remove, anyone who is intoxicated, abusive, violent, carrying prohibited goods, or behaving in a way that endangers others. No refund is due in that case. The same applies to a host asking a guest to leave for the same reasons.
Do not use EAGO to break the law, to move prohibited or smuggled goods, to make bookings you do not intend to use, or to interfere with the service or other people's bookings. We may suspend or close an account, and cancel bookings, where we reasonably believe this is happening.
14. Who is responsible for what
We are responsible for providing the booking, payment and ticketing service with reasonable care and skill, and for losses we cause by failing to do so.
We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of a transport operator, driver, host, food vendor, transfer driver or Mobile Money network, beyond our duty to select and manage them reasonably and to help you when something goes wrong. Claims about the journey itself lie against the operator; claims about a property lie against the host.
We are not liable for delays, cancellations or losses caused by things outside our reasonable control, including road and weather conditions, border closures and queues, strikes, civil unrest, mobile network and power failures, and vehicle breakdown.
Where we are liable for a booking, our liability is limited to the amount you paid for that booking, except where the law does not allow such a limit. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected.
15. Complaints
Contact EAGO support first, with your booking number. We aim to acknowledge within one working day and to resolve or explain within five. If you are not satisfied, ask for the complaint to be escalated and a manager will review it.
16. Law and disputes
Bookings sold by EAGO Uganda Ltd are governed by the laws of Uganda and subject to the courts of Uganda. Bookings sold by EAGO Rwanda Ltd are governed by the laws of Rwanda and subject to the courts of Rwanda. Nothing here removes a right you have to bring a claim where you live.
17. Changes to these terms
We may change these terms. The terms that apply to your booking are the ones published when you made it, and we keep the date of the last change at the top of this page. Where a change materially affects bookings already made, we will tell the people affected.
18. Contact
EAGO support — through the app, by WhatsApp on the number shown on your booking, or by email at support@eastafricago.com.
For anything about your personal information, see our Privacy Policy.